Awful Beautiful Life
by Savella
Summary: Once in a while, Trunks and Pan like to just sit and enjoy each others' company. These lazy afternoons bring with them introspection and discussions of the past and of the future.


After everything Pan and Trunks had been through, after all of the journeys and battles, sometimes they were content to just sit and be. And that's where one particularly lazy Sunday afternoon found them, content in the June sunshine and each other's company. A soft breeze carried the faint scent of the newly-painted picket fence surrounding Pan's yard to them.

"And then he said, 'penguins? Those are nuns!" Trunks and Pan both laughed uproariously at Trunks' joke.

Pan smiled contentedly and chuckled. There was the Trunks that she'd missed. It had been so long since they had gotten a chance to sit and talk that she had almost forgotten how witty he could be. "Care for another?" she asked, nodding toward the cooler beside her.

Trunks nodded enthusiastically. "But of course!"

Pan laughed and tossed him a cold beer, opening herself one as well. As she took a sip, a little hand pulled on her pant leg. "Mamma!" the little boy, barely two years old, looked at Pan from behind a mop of black hair that needed a haircut two weeks ago. He tugged on Pan's pants again. "Mamma, me?"

Pan let out a jolly laugh. "No sweetie, this is a grown-up drink. Here – " Pan grunted as she reached behind her lawn chair, "this one is for you." She handed him a half-full sippy cup of apple juice he had discarded earlier. The boy smiled widely, blue eyes shining, as he took the cup from his mother. He began to toddle away when Pan firmly, but merrily asked, "Now, Nick, what do you say?"

"Dank you!" he gladly recited. Pan chuckled and ruffled his hair. "You're very welcome. Now go play." The boy happily complied, toddling over to the sandbox across from Pan and Trunks.

Trunks whistled in awe. "Wow, he's gotten so big already. He looks just like you."

Pan winked. "Not _just_ like me. He has his daddy's eyes, after all."

Trunks chuckled. "This is true."

"Besides," Pan went on, "you can't honestly sit here and act surprised that my kid is getting old. What about the girls?"

The two looked fondly at the toddlers playing in the sandbox. Yes, Nick was getting big. But the girls were growing up fast, too. Alleia was a year older than Nick, and Marella was three years older than her sister. Trunks let out a small chuckle. "Heh. Yeah, I guess you're right. God, where did the years go?"

Pan often wondered the same thing herself. She casually observed the ring on her left hand. How many years had it been since she'd been married, now? Four? "I couldn't tell you, they snuck past the both of us."

Trunks smiled and nodded his agreement. As he watched the children play, he caught a faint whiff of apples on the breeze. He honed in on the sweet smell. "Mmmm." He inhaled deeply. "Pan, I didn't know your apple tree was bearing fruit already!"

Pan grinned. "Yup! Feel free to pick a couple."

"Oh, yes," exclaimed Trunks, "thank you!" Pan gave him a slight nod, smiling. Trunks strolled to the edge of the white picket fence where the apple tree's branches sagged. "Kids," he called, "come here for a minute."

In a flurry of sand, all three children materialized at Trunks' feet. He grinned as he picked four fragrant apples. He handed one to Marella, the oldest, and split one between Alleia and Nick. "Thank you!" they chorused, happily scampering to a new corner of the yard to explore. Trunks crunched on the apple he had picked for himself and tossed one to Pan.

They crunched on their apples in silence, listening to the children giggle and play. Pan wagged her half-eaten apple at Trunks. "I bet," she said through a bite of fruit, "that Nick is going to marry one of your girls." She laughed. "If he doesn't, I'll make him!"

Trunks chuckled. "Oh dear. Can you imagine what Dad would think?"

"Well, he'd better get used to the idea! This union will happen whether he likes it or not!"

Trunks laughed at Pan's spunk. Checking his watch, Trunks was startled that they'd let an entire afternoon pass without his knowledge. "Thanks for having us over, but Maretta will have dinner ready soon. I'm sure she would like to see her husband and children when it's time for the family meal!"

With a few protests from the girls and a fight to get Alleia in her car seat, Trunks and his family left, leaving Pan to watch his hover car zip in the direction of his home.

Pan went inside to prepare her own family's dinner, grateful for the addition of the new fence to corral her adventurous toddler. A faint breeze fluttered past the open screen door in the kitchen, stirring Pan's thoughts. What if, she sometimes wondered. What if she and Trunks had married, just like she dreamt of as a little girl? Where would they be today if the innocent crush of a ten year old girl was true love?

The front door clattered open, followed by a merry "Pan, honey! I'm home!" and a shrill giggle from Nick, presumably being spun about in the air. Pan smiled contentedly as her sandy-haired husband strolled into the kitchen, still smelly from work. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, but he still had to lean down to meet her lips. "How was your visit with Trunks today?" His blue eyes twinkled merrily.

"Oh, the best!"

He looked at Pan lovingly and smiled. "I'm glad."

As he left to change into clean clothes, fondly ruffling Nick's hair on the way out, Pan's eyes followed him, and she picked Nick up off the ground at her feet. Yes, it would have been nice to marry Trunks, she decided, kissing her son's forehead. But she wouldn't trade this beautiful life for the world.


End file.
